The London Transit Commission is seeing so many riders, it can’t keep up with the demand. Buses aren’t big enough, running often enough, or going enough places around the city.

That’s the message in the London Transit Commission’s 2013 annual report that will be presented to the civic works committee Monday.

The biggest take away is a common refrain: more money.

Without a significant financial injection into the city’s public transportation, riders will be driven away by mounting frustration and failing service, the LTC warns.

“Those gains are not sustainable. You’re at a tipping point,” LTC general manager Larry Ducharme said.

The commission’s report is direct, no financial fine-print or mumbo jumbo — and that was an intentional decision. Ducharme calls the document a “report card.”

Among the diagnoses are over-crowded buses, limited and late service schedules, and a host of other problems driving up riders’ anger, and creating a volatile situation for the future of the city’s public transit.

“It’s time that we state the facts a little bit more bluntly to council,” LTC vice chair and councillor Harold Usher said.

“The (city) council has been very positive about making the contribution, but they never want to hear anything about what we really need. There’s a big need for more financial support for transit,” Usher said.

Ducharme is quick to take some of the heat off city council.

“We’re looking for investment from a lot of people,” he said. “We’re not saying it’s city council’s problem. We’re saying, ‘We need more from you, we need more from the province, we need more from customers.’”

“We’ve got a plan, we just need to get there,” Ducharme said. He still considers a bus rapid transit system to be best long-term solution. It’s a position enforced by much of the vision in the London Plan and the city’s long-term transportation plan.

But Usher’s not the only one putting the gears to the city. Riders are too.

Jen Carter relied on the bus to get to her classes at Western University. She’s also a sounding board for students’ bus frustration in her role as Western University student council vice-president.

“There’s a systematic frustration across the board with students,” Carter said. “Going in and out of campus at rush hour, you’re packed like a sardine in a sardine can.”

Although students — and the rest of the LTC’s riders — are demanding improvements, Carter also recognized the challenge of improving service with little capital.

“To take what they have in terms of financial commitments from the city and from the province, and turn it around into service levels, I seriously commend everybody over at the LTC for being able to manage that.”

BY THE NUMBERS

$0.37: Amount of every dollar spent on transportation that comes from city of London.

$0.50: Average amount of every dollar spent on transportation costs by other Ontario municipalities.

43%: Service complaints related to late or full buses.

23.8 million: Rides in 2013.

$63.5 million: LTC’s budget in 2013.

$22 million: Amount contributed by the city to LTC budget.

17,700: New service hours coming to LTC in September 2014 (and annually thereafter).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“Until the city of London can make a large commitment into improving transit in this city, it’s not going to be an attractive option for students and young people to live in and grow their families.”

Jen Carter, Western student council executive

“You want the gains you’ve made to be sustainable… Our success has come at a cost of quality. If you don’t address the quality issues, your service isn’t sustainable.

Larry Ducharme, LTC general manager

“We need to get more buses, we need to serve more areas, and we need to be sure that we remove that frustration from our operators. It’s not fair to have them out facing all this frustration from the public.”

Harold Usher, LTC vice-chair

CELEBRATE SUCCESS…

Infrastructure: LTC’s buses, buildings, technology declared “very good and fit for the future.”

Ridership: Many more people are riding both conventional and ParaTransit buses.

Operators: Complaints about bus drivers are down and compliments are up.

Rush hour: More than 12% people on the road during rush hour now choose the bus.

…BUT RECOGNIZE FAILURE

Missed target: LTC wanted to reach 24 million rides in 2013.

Feedback: Customer ‘thank yous’ have plunged and complaints spiked each year since 2010.

City funding: Ranked last in city contributions among 16 Ontario municipalities.

Sardines: At any time during the service schedule, LTC buses are 25% to 64% over capacity.

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